Transient Electromagnetic System Research Articles

A Constant-Current Transmission Converter for Semi-airborne Transient Electromagnetic Surveying

In complex terrain, semi-airborne transient electromagnetic surveying can effectively solve the detailed exploration problems to replace ground manual operation. This method has the advantages of high efficiency, deep exploration depth, and high signal-to-noise ratio. As the core component of the system, the constant-current transmission converter determines the primary field source of the surveying system. High-accurate and stable-output electromagnetic transmission technology is the key issues of the surveying equipment development. In this paper, the converter circuit topology is designed in detail and a novel model reference adaptive proportional-integral control algorithm is put forward. The rising overshoot of current is eliminated and falling edge is linear. Finally, the 20-kW high-power transmitting instrument has been completed and used for field experiments. A large number of experimental results show that the transmitting instrument can achieve high-power constant-current emission, stable output, and good dynamic performance. And the steady-state accuracy is better than the traditional transmitter. The converter successfully improved the semi-airborne transient electromagnetic system detection capability and achieved satisfactory results in field experiments.

Design of Cable Parallel Air-Core Coil Sensor to Reduce Motion-Induced Noise in Helicopter Transient Electromagnetic System

Motion-induced noise (MIN) caused by the mechanical vibration of the air-core coil sensor (ACS) in the geomagnetic field is an important element of detection method in helicopter transient electromagnetic (TEM) systems. The MIN level heavily influences the detection result when its frequency range covers the TEM signal base frequency (25 Hz). To reduce the MIN, the frequencies between the MIN and TEM signals need to be separated. Accordingly, the mechanical vibration frequency of the ACS must be decreased to a level below 25 Hz. Hence, a cable parallel ACS (CPACS), consisting of the cable parallel structure (CPS) and ACS, is designed for the helicopter TEM system. The CPS is designed to change the natural frequency of the ACS based on the mechanical principle. From a simulation, the natural mechanical frequency range of the ACS is changed to lie within 1.89–3.67 Hz. Post CPACS fabrication tests show that the resulting ACS natural mechanical vibration frequency is approximately 3 Hz. Field experiments implemented to verify the electrical performance of the designed CPACS reveal a MIN frequency of about 2–3 Hz, substantially lower than 25 Hz. The MIN level is reduced from ±22 to ±1 nT/s, further distinguishing anomaly responses during the data collection. In summary, the implementation of the CPACS as the sensor of the TEM system drastically improves the noise reduction performance of the detecting instrument due to its contrivable electrical–mechanical character.

TTEM — A towed transient electromagnetic system for detailed 3D imaging of the top 70 m of the subsurface

There is a growing need for detailed investigation of the top 30–50 m of the subsurface, which is critical for infrastructure, water supply, aquifer storage and recovery, farming, waste deposits, and construction. Existing geophysical methods are capable of imaging this zone; however, they have limited efficiency when it comes to creating full 3D images with high resolution over dozens to hundreds of hectares. We have developed a new and highly efficient towed transient electromagnetic (tTEM) system, which is capable of imaging the subsurface up to depth of 70 m at a high resolution, horizontally and vertically. Towed by an all-terrain vehicle, the system uses a [Formula: see text] transmitter coil and has a [Formula: see text]-component receiver placed at 9 m offset from the transmitter. The tTEM uses dual transmitter moment (low and high moment) measurement sequence to obtain the early and late time gates corresponding to shallow and deep information about the subsurface layers. The first bias-free gate is as early as [Formula: see text] from beginning of the ramp ([Formula: see text] after end of ramp). Data are processed and inverted using methods directly adopted from airborne electromagnetics. The system has been successfully used in Denmark for various purposes, e.g., mapping raw materials, investigating contaminated sites, and assessing aquifer vulnerability. We have also used the tTEM system in the Central Valley of California (United States) for locating artificial recharge sites and in the Mississippi Delta region, to map complex subsurface geology in great detail for building hydrogeologic models.

Marine dipole–dipole controlled source electromagnetic and coincident-loop transient electromagnetic experiments to detect seafloor massive sulphides: effects of three-dimensional bathymetry

Seafloor massive sulphides (SMSs) are regarded as a potential future resource to satisfy the growing global demand of metals including copper, zinc and gold. Aside from mining and retrieving profitable amounts of massive sulphides from the seafloor, the present challenge is to detect and delineate significant SMS accumulations, which are generally located near mid-ocean ridges and along submarine volcanic arc and backarc spreading centres. Currently, several geophysical technologies are being developed to detect and quantify SMS occurrences that often exhibit measurable contrasts in their physical parameters compared to the surrounding host rock. Here, we use a short, fixed-offset controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) system and a coincident-loop transient electromagnetic (TEM) system, which in theory allow the detection of SMS in the shallow seafloor due to a significant electrical conductivity contrast to their surroundings. In 2016, CSEM and TEM experiments were carried out at several locations near the Trans- Atlantic Geotraverse hydrothermal field to investigate shallow occurrences of massive sulphides below the seafloor. Measurements were conducted in an area that contains distinct SMS sites located several kilometres off-axis from the Mid-Atlantic ridge, some of which are still connected to hydrothermal activity and others where hydrothermal activity has ceased. Based on the quality of the acquired data, both experiments were operationally successful. However, the data analysis indicates bias caused by three-dimensional (3D) effects of the rough bathymetry in the study area and, thus, data interpretation remains challenging. Therefore, we study the influence of 3D bathymetry for marine CSEM and TEM experiments, focusing on shallow 3D conductors located beneath mound-like structures.We analyse synthetic inversion models for attributes associated with 3D distortions of CSEM and TEM data that are not sufficiently accounted for in conventional 1D (TEM) and 2D (CSEM) interpretation schemes. Before an adequate quantification of SMS in the region is feasible, these 3D effects need to be studied to avoid over/underestimation of SMS using the acquired EM data. The sensitivity of CSEM and TEM to bathymetry is investigated by means of 3D forward modelling, followed by 1D (TEM) and 2D (CSEM) inversion of the synthetic data using realistic error conditions. Subsequently, inversion models of the synthetic 3D data are analysed and compared to models derived from the measured data to illustrate that 3D distortions are evident in the recorded data sets.

A Uniform Linear Multi-Coil Array-Based Borehole Transient Electromagnetic System for Non-Destructive Evaluations of Downhole Casings.

Borehole transient electromagnetic (TEM) techniques have been proven to be efficient for nondestructive evaluations (NDEs) of metal casings using eddy-current properties. However, physical limitations and bad borehole conditions restrict the use of eddy-current sensors, which makes downhole casing inspections very different from those of conventional NDE systems. In this paper, we present a uniform linear multi-coil array-based borehole TEM system for NDEs of downhole casings. On the basis of the borehole TEM signal model, a numerical multi-coil array approach using the Gauss–Legendre quadrature is derived. The TEM response can be divided into two independent parts related to the transmitting-receiving distance (TRD) and the observation time and casing thickness. Using this property, the signal received by the multi-coil array is weighted to cancel the influence of the TRDs of the different array elements to obtain the optimal response according to the linearly constrained minimum variance criterion, which can be shown to be identical to that of achieving the maximum signal-to-noise ratio. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by applying the uniform linear multi-coil array to a borehole TEM system for NDEs of oil-well casings. Field experiments were conducted, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Geophysical survey over molybdenum mines using the newly developed M-TEM system

Multi-channel transient electromagnetic (M-TEM) system, which is a time-domain control source electromagnetic (CSEM) system, is mainly used in hydrocarbon exploration. In this paper, we experimentally applied the method to the investigation of mineral resources. Firstly, we introduced the basic principles and imaging technique of a typical M-TEM survey. Then, we presented a field example which was conducted over a molybdenum mine with the newly developed instruments. The high power transmitter and the pseudo random binary sequences (PRBS) are employed in the field work. The result of the field test validates the feasibility of the M-TEM system in identify orebody.

The development and test research of a multichannel synchronous transient electromagnetic receiver

Abstract. As a result of the drastic reduction in shallow mineral resources, the exploitable potential and reserves of proven mines are insufficient, and the mineral resources in deep ground need to be more explored in a more refined way. There are some disadvantages of the existing instruments, such as few channels and slow sampling rate. Therefore, a multiparameter transient electromagnetic instrument with synchronous receiving has been developed and tested. The instrument is composed of two controllers – embedded controller and programmable logic controller – which can provide a diversified information combination for follow-up information processing. Under the grounding electrode source emission mode, the real-time synchronous transient electromagnetic acquisition system of six channels is achieved with a sampling rate of 128 000 samples per second (SPS). The data acquired by the six channels is recorded in the full-time range of the time domain. Furthermore, experiments were carried out in the laboratory, open areas, and actual mine. Through data analysis, the measured data curves of the mining area are highly consistent with the existing geochemical exploration curves and geological profile.

Noise reduction of grounded electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic data using an exponential fitting-adaptive Kalman filter

The grounded electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic (GREATEM) system, which uses a grounded electrical transmitter and an aircraft for the receiver, offers deep exploration capability and detection efficiency. However, GREATEM field data usually includes mixed varied noises (white noise, sferics noise and human noise), which make identifying the exponential decaying signal too difficult. Traditional filtering methods mainly focus on suppressing specific noise types, which may cause the distortion of GREATEM signal, especially when the signal is affected by high residual sferics noise. This paper presents an exponential fitting-adaptive Kalman filter (EF-AKF) to remove mixed electromagnetic noises, while preserving the signal characteristics. The EF-AKF consists of an exponential fitting procedure and an adaptive scalar Kalman filter (SKF). The adaptive SKF uses the exponential fitting results in the weighting coefficients calculation. The EF-AKF is verified on an analytical three-layer model. It is compared with the SKF and wavelet threshold-exponential adaptive window width-fitting denoising algorithm (WEF) in synthetic data. The results showed that the EF-AKF outperformed the other methods in the noise reduction of GREATEM data. The EF-AKF is also tested on a synthetic quasi-2D earth model and applied to GREATEM field data in Huaide, Jilin province, China. Application of the EF-AKF allowed considerable improvement of the quality of the GREATEM field data.

A New Inversion Method Based on Distorted Born Iterative Method for Grounded Electrical Source Airborne Transient Electromagnetics

A new iterative inversion algorithm is proposed to reconstruct the electrical conductivity profile in a stratified underground medium for the grounded electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic (GREATEM) system. In forward modeling, we simplify the mathematical expressions of the magnetic fields generated by a finite line source in the layered ground to semianalytical forms in order to save the computation time. The Frechet derivative is derived for the electromagnetic response at the receivers due to a small perturbation of the conductivity in a certain layer underground. The initial expression of the Frechet derivative has an expensive triple integral and contains the Bessel function in the integrand. It is simplified by partially eliminating the integration along the source line and deriving the analytical expression for the integration in the vertical direction inside the perturbed layer. In the inverse solution, we use the distorted Born iterative method (DBIM). This is the first time that the DBIM is applied to data measured by the GREATEM system. Besides, the forward and inverse procedures are carried out in the frequency domain and based on the Frechet derivative of a line source. We demonstrate the validity of our forward model, Frechet derivative, inverse model, and the precision as well as robustness of the inversion algorithm through numerical computation and comparisons. Finally, we apply the inversion algorithm to the measured data and compare the retrieved conductivity to the actual drilling data.

A High-Performance Portable Transient Electro-Magnetic Sensor for Unexploded Ordnance Detection.

Portable transient electromagnetic (TEM) systems can be well adapted to various terrains, including mountainous, woodland, and other complex terrains. They are widely used for the detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO). As the core component of the portable TEM system, the sensor is constructed with a transmitting coil and a receiving coil. Based on the primary field of the transmitting coil and internal noise of the receiving coil, the design and testing of such a sensor is described in detail. Results indicate that the primary field of the transmitting coil depends on the diameter, mass, and power of the coil. A higher mass–power product and a larger diameter causes a stronger primary field. Reducing the number of turns and increasing the clamp voltage reduces the switch-off time of the transmitting current effectively. Increasing the cross-section of the wire reduces the power consumption, but greatly increases the coil’s weight. The study of the receiving coil shows that the internal noise of the sensor is dominated by the thermal noise of the damping resistor. Reducing the bandwidth of the system and increasing the size of the coil reduces the internal noise effectively. The cross-sectional area and the distance between the sections of the coil have little effect on the internal noise. A less damped state can effectively reduce signal distortion. Finally, a portable TEM sensor with both a transmitting coil (constructed with a diameter, number of turns, and transmitting current of 0.5 m, 30, and 5 A, respectively) and a receiving coil (constructed with a length and resonant frequency of 5.6 cm and 50 kHz, respectively) was built. The agreement between experimental and calculated results confirms the theory used in the sensor design. The responses of an 82 mm mortar shell at different distances were measured and inverted by the differential evolution (DE) algorithm to verify system performance. Results show that the sensor designed in this study can not only detect the 82 mm mortar shell within 1.2 m effectively but also locate the target precisely.

Auxiliary Sensor-Based Borehole Transient Electromagnetic System for the Nondestructive Inspection of Multipipe Strings.

Transient electromagnetic (TEM) techniques are widely used in the field of geophysical prospecting. In borehole detection, the nondestructive inspection (NDI) of a metal pipe can be performed efficiently using the properties of eddy currents. However, with increasing concern for safety in oil and gas production, more than one string of pipe is used to protect wellbores, which complicates data interpretation. In this paper, an auxiliary sensor-based borehole TEM system for the NDI of multipipe strings is presented. On the basis of the characteristics of the borehole TEM model, we investigate the principle behind the NDI of multipipe strings using multiple time slices of induced electromotive force (EMF) in a single sensor. The results show that the detection performance of NDI is strongly influenced by eddy-current diffusion in the longitudinal direction. To solve this problem, we used time slices of the induced EMF in both the main and auxiliary sensors. The performance of the proposed system was verified by applying it to an oil well with a production casing and liner. Moreover, field experiments were conducted, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

지상 송신원 항공 전자탐사 자료의 횡적 제한 역산

최근 도입된 지상 송신원 항공 전자탐사 시스템(grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetic, GREATEM)은 신호가 강력하여 가탐심도 향상은 물론 잡음이 심한 지역에서도 적용 가능하다. 비록 GREATEM은 지상에 설치된 긴 전선을 송신원으로 사용하는 시간영역 전자탐사법이지만, 방대한 항공탐사 자료의 2차원 혹은 3차원 해석은 계산시간이 너무 많이 소요되어 실질적인 적용이 어렵기 때문에 GREATEM 탐사 자료는 주로 1차원 해석에 의존하고 있다. 일반적으로 방대한 항공 전자탐사 자료의 해석은 각 측점에서 얻어진 자료에 대한 1차원 역산 결과를 병합하여 전기비저항 2차원 단면을 작성하는 방법이 널리 사용되고 있다. 그러나 이러한 병합 단면은 전기비저항이 너무 급격하게 변하는 문제점을 보인다. 횡적 제한 역산법(laterally constrained inversion, LCI)은 이러한 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 개발되었으며, 연속성이 뛰어난 역산 단면을 제공하게 된다. 이 연구에서는 우선 수치 모델링을 통하여 곡선 전류원에 대한 GREATEM 탐사 자료의 특성을 분석하였다. 또한 GREATEM 탐사 자료에 대한 횡적 제한 역산법을 개발하였다. 이 방법은 각 측점에서 획득된 모든 1차원 자료와 층서 모델을 하나의 역산 시스템에 병합하여 처리하므로 수평적 연속성이 뛰어난 역산 단면을 제공하게 된다. 개발된 역산 알고리듬을 GREATEM 탐사 자료에 적용한 결과, 해당 지역의 층서를 효과적으로 반영하는 역산 영상을 얻을 수 있었다. Recently, the grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetic (GREATEM) system with high power source was introduced to achieve deeper investigation depth and to overcome high noise level. Although the GREATEM is a transient electromagnetic system using a long grounded wire as the transmitter, GREATEM data have been interpreted with 1D earth models because 2D or 3D modeling and inversion of vast airborne data are complicated and expensive to calculate. Generally, 1D inversion is subsequently applied to every survey point and combining 1D images together forms the stitched conductivity-depth image. However, the stitched models often result in abrupt variations in neighboring models. To overcome this problem, laterally constrained inversion (LCI) has been developed in inversion of ATEM data, which can yield layered sections with lateral smooth transitions. In this study, we analysed the GREATEM data through 1D numerical modeling for a curved grounded wire source. Furthermore, we developed a laterally constrained inversion scheme for continuous GREATEM data based on a layered earth model. All 1D data sets and models are inverted as one system, producing layered sections with lateral smooth transitions. Applying the developed LCI technique to the GREATEM data, it was confirmed that the laterally constrained inversion can provide laterally smooth model sections that reflect the layering of the survey area effectively.

Application of the EEMD method for distinction and suppression of motion-induced noise in grounded electrical source airborne TEM system

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) detection is an important method for obtaining subsurface conductivity distribution. However, the response of observation system includes not only the underground media response but also a variety of noise components. The motion-induced noise is one of the main noise sources of the airborne electromagnetic data, which has a low frequency, large amplitude, non-periodic and other characteristics. In this paper, we will introduce the principle of the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method and use it for decomposing electromagnetic signal of grounded electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic system. The EEMD method will decompose the electromagnetic signal into multi-stage intrinsic mode function (IMF) components and distinguish the IMF component containing the motion-induced noise. Then we can get the noise-free signal by reconstructing remaining IMF components and residual component. We use the EEMD method for the theoretical signal correction and compared with the cubic spline method, the correction result indicates that the EEMD method can fit the motion-induced noise more accurately with a higher signal-to-noise ratio. To verify the effect of the application of the EEMD method, we went to Weifang city, Shandong province, East China, for the concealed fault investigation. The correction result of the time series shows that the EEMD method can suppress the motion-induced noise more effectively than the cubic spline method. Compared with the uncorrected data and the corrected data using the cubic spline method, the result shows that the fake anomaly can be nearly avoided and a more clear geological structure can be obtained through the corrected data with EEMD method. The results also prove that the EEMD method is a practical as well as effective method for the motion-induced noise suppression.

In-Loop Transient Electromagnetic Responses With Induced Polarization Effects of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Deposits

A transient electromagnetic (TEM) system using a small loop source is advantageous to the development of compact autonomous instruments, which are well suited to a submersible-based survey. Since the electrical conductivity of subseafloor materials can be frequency dependent, these induced polarization (IP) effects may affect the reliability of TEM data interpretation. In this paper, we investigate the IP effects on the TEM responses of deep-sea hydrothermal mineral deposits with a thin sediment cover. Time-domain target signals are larger and appear earlier in horizontal magnetic fields than in vertical magnetic fields. The IP effects cause transient magnetic fields to enhance initially, to decay rapidly, and then to reverse the polarity. The dc conductivity and chargeability in Cole–Cole parameters influence the time of sign reversals and the enhancement of target responses, simultaneously. A damped least squares inversion scheme is applied to reconstruct a polarizable hydrothermal deposit model using synthetic TEM sounding data sampled from a time interval before the sign reversal. The test example demonstrates that the Cole–Cole parameters of a highly conductive layer can be resolved more effectively from vertical magnetic fields than from horizontal magnetic fields.

Electromagnetic noise reduction in grounded electrical‐source airborne transient electromagnetic signal using a stationarywavelet‐based denoising algorithm

ABSTRACTThe grounded electrical‐source airborne transient electromagnetic signal is significantly affected by electromagnetic noise (sferics and aircraft engine electromagnetic noise), leading to inferior image formation. We calculate the theoretical response of the grounded electrical‐source airborne transient electromagnetic system and propose a denoising algorithm based on the transient characters of the theoretical electromagnetic response and the measured noise. The proposed algorithm utilises multi‐resolution analysis via a stationary wavelet transform of the data. Primarily, the measured data are decomposed into detailed coefficients and approximated coefficients. Then, the logarithmic slope of the measured data and a threshold are calculated to identify the noise in the detailed coefficients; the corresponding detailed coefficients are processed to reduce the noise. Finally, the undisturbed data are reconstructed using inverse stationary wavelet transform. The algorithm is verified using synthetic signal and is applied for electromagnetic noise suppression in synthetic data and real data collected over the coastal areas in Yanwei Harbor, China. The results confirm that the denoising algorithm can effectively remove the electromagnetic noise from the grounded electrical‐source airborne transient electromagnetic signal. Moreover, the image formations clearly reveal the structure of the Huaiyin–Xiangshui fault zone.

3D inversion for multipulse airborne transient electromagnetic data

Multipulse airborne transient electromagnetic (ATEM) systems transmit one high-power pulse and one low-power pulse containing more high-frequency EM signals. Such systems have better near-surface resolutions while maintaining the depth of exploration of other conventional systems. ATEM systems are especially suitable for geologic mapping and mineral exploration. The inversion of multipulse ATEM data has been mainly limited to 1D modeling, which is not suitable for complex underground structures. We have investigated an algorithm for 3D multipulse ATEM data inversion based on direct Gauss-Newton optimization with quite-fast convergence. The forward problems were solved in the frequency-domain based on the secondary scattered electrical field equation, and then the inverse Fourier transform and the convolution with transmitting waveform were applied to calculate the arbitrary waveform response and sensitivity matrix in the time domain. To optimize the number of computations and memory, we further used an EM “footprint” concept in our inversions to reduce the forward model size and sparse the sensitivity matrix. The inversion results of synthetic data showed that our 3D algorithm is very effective for inverting the multipulse data with results combining advantageous resolutions of different transmitting pulses. Finally, we applied our algorithm to invert real survey data obtained at McMurray, Alberta, Canada, to further test its effectiveness.

Three-dimensional resistivity modeling of GREATEM survey data from Ontake Volcano, northwest Japan

Ontake Volcano is located in central Japan, 200 km northwest of Tokyo and erupted on September 27, 2014. To study the structure of Ontake Volcano and discuss the process of its phreatic eruption, which can help in future eruptions mitigation, airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys using the grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetic (GREATEM) system were conducted over Ontake Volcano. Field measurements and data analysis were done by OYO Company under the Sabo project managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Processed data and 1D resistivity models were provided by this project. We performed numerical forward modeling to generate a three-dimensional (3D) resistivity structure model that fits the GREATEM data where a composite of 1D resistivity models was used as the starting model. A 3D electromagnetic forward-modeling scheme based on a staggered-grid finite-difference method was modified and used to calculate the response of the 3D resistivity model along each survey line. We verified the model by examining the fit of magnetic-transient responses between the field data and 3D forward-model computed data. The preferred 3D resistivity models show that a moderately resistive structure (30–200 Ω m) is characteristic of most of the volcano, and were able to delineate a hydrothermal zone within the volcanic edifice. This hydrothermal zone may be caused by a previous large sector collapse.

An Optimized Air-Core Coil Sensor with a Magnetic Flux Compensation Structure Suitable to the Helicopter TEM System.

The air-core coil sensor (ACS) is widely used as a transducer to measure the variation in magnetic fields of a helicopter transient electromagnetic (TEM) system. A high periodic emitting current induces the magnetic field signal of the underground medium. However, such current also generates a high primary field signal that can affect the received signal of the ACS and even damage the receiver. To increase the dynamic range of the received signal and to protect the receiver when emitting current rises/falls, the combination of ACS with magnetic flux compensation structure (bucking coil) is necessary. Moreover, the optimized ACS, which is composed of an air-core coil and a differential pre-amplifier circuit, must be investigated to meet the requirements of the helicopter TEM system suited to rapid surveying for shallow buried metal mine in rough topography. Accordingly, two ACSs are fabricated in this study, and their performance is verified and compared inside a magnetic shielding room. Using the designed ACSs, field experiments are conducted in Baoqing County. The field experimental data show that the primary field response can be compensated when the bucking coil is placed at an appropriate point in the range of allowed shift distance beyond the center of the transmitting coil and that the damage to the receiver induced by the over-statured signal can be solved. In conclusion, a more suitable ACS is adopted and is shown to have better performance, with a mass of 2.5 kg, resultant effective area of 11.6 m2 (i.e., diameter of 0.496 m), 3 dB bandwidth of 66 kHz, signal-to-noise ratio of 4 (i.e., varying magnetic field strength of 0.2 nT/s), and normalized equivalent input noise of 3.62 nV/m2.

A de-noising algorithm based on wavelet threshold-exponential adaptive window width-fitting for ground electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic signal

The ground electrical source airborne transient electromagnetic system (GREATEM) on an unmanned aircraft enjoys considerable prospecting depth, lateral resolution and detection efficiency, etc. In recent years it has become an important technical means of rapid resources exploration. However, GREATEM data are extremely vulnerable to stationary white noise and non-stationary electromagnetic noise (sferics noise, aircraft engine noise and other human electromagnetic noises). These noises will cause degradation of the imaging quality for data interpretation. Based on the characteristics of the GREATEM data and major noises, we propose a de-noising algorithm utilizing wavelet threshold method and exponential adaptive window width-fitting. Firstly, the white noise is filtered in the measured data using the wavelet threshold method. Then, the data are segmented using data window whose step length is even logarithmic intervals. The data polluted by electromagnetic noise are identified within each window based on the discriminating principle of energy detection, and the attenuation characteristics of the data slope are extracted. Eventually, an exponential fitting algorithm is adopted to fit the attenuation curve of each window, and the data polluted by non-stationary electromagnetic noise are replaced with their fitting results. Thus the non-stationary electromagnetic noise can be effectively removed. The proposed algorithm is verified by the synthetic and real GREATEM signals. The results show that in GREATEM signal, stationary white noise and non-stationary electromagnetic noise can be effectively filtered using the wavelet threshold-exponential adaptive window width-fitting algorithm, which enhances the imaging quality.

Bipolar square-wave current source for transient electromagnetic systems based on constant shutdown time.

Cooperative work of multiple magnetic transmitting sources is a new trend in the development of transient electromagnetic system. The key is the bipolar current waves shutdown, concurrently in the inductive load. In the past, it was difficult to use the constant clamping voltage technique to realize the synchronized shutdown of currents with different peak values. Based on clamping voltage technique, we introduce a new controlling method with constant shutdown time. We use the rising time to control shutdown time and use low voltage power source to control peak current. From the viewpoint of the circuit energy loss, by taking the high-voltage capacitor bypass resistance and the capacitor of the passive snubber circuit into account, we establish the relationship between the rising time and the shutdown time. Since the switch is not ideal, we propose a new method to test the shutdown time by the low voltage, the high voltage and the peak current. Experimental results show that adjustment of the current rising time can precisely control the value of the clamp voltage. When the rising time is fixed, the shutdown time is unchanged. The error for shutdown time deduced from the energy consumption is less than 6%. The new controlling method on current shutdown proposed in this paper can be used in the cooperative work of borehole and ground transmitting system.